Nikolai Yefimovich Andrianov

Andrianov, Nikolai Yefimovich, 1952–2011, Russian gymnast. Andrianov excelled especially in the rings and floor exercises. He joined the Soviet national team in 1970 and won his first international medals at the 1971 European championships. In 1972 he became the USSR's all-around champion, and he subsequently won medals in two more European championships (1973, 1975) and three World championships (1974, 1978, 1979). He competed in the Munich (1972), Montreal (1976), and Moscow (1980) Olympics, winning a total of 15 medals, seven of them gold. In addition to setting an Olympic medal record for a male athlete (later surpassed by Michael Phelps), he won all-around gold (1976) and silver (1980) medals.